1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of dentistry, and more particularly to fluoride treatment compositions.
2. The Relevant Technology
In the field of dentistry, a fluoride composition is often applied to a patient's teeth as part of a routine dental cleaning. Fluoride compositions are often applied to children's teeth, although they are sometimes applied to adult teeth also. Application of fluoride has been widely recognized as a method for preventing tooth decay.
According to one method, a fluoride gel composition is dispensed within a dental tray, after which the tray is placed over the patient's teeth. The tray holds the fluoride gel composition adjacent to the patient's teeth, and after a desired amount of time (e.g., a minute or less), the tray is removed and the remaining gel composition is rinsed off the patient's teeth.
Although such fluoride gel compositions provide for fluoride treatment of the teeth, the exposure time of the composition to the patient's teeth is limited (e.g., to 30-60 seconds), which is often all that the patient can endure, as the compositions are typically characterized as having poor taste, discomfort and messiness associated with placing a bulky dental tray filled with a fluoride gel into the patient's mouth. It would be an improvement in the art to provide alternative compositions and methods that would allow for substantially increased exposure times with reduced messiness, and that would not be so invasive and uncomfortable from the patient's standpoint.